New Thorp delay deals blow to BNG

Britain's nuclear industry has been hit by further setbacks with the re-opening of the £1.8bn fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield facing more delays and British Energy warning of difficulties with two reactors.

Shares in British Energy slumped 8% to 587p after the company, which produces almost a quarter of the UK's electricity, said the nuclear stations Hunterston B, in Ayrshire, and Hinkley Point B, Somerset, could need repairs to mend boiler cracks.

Analysts say forced stoppages to solve these problems could knock £80m off full-year profits. British Energy has benefited from higher power prices and was expected to report profits of £1.5bn in the 12 months to March 31 2007.

The problems come at a difficult time for the UK's nuclear industry as British Nuclear Group, the operator of Sellafield's Thorp fuel reprocessing plant, prepares for privatisation and the UK moves towards building a new generation of atomic power stations.

British Energy holds its annual general meeting in Edinburgh today where it will be met with demonstrators opposed to an extension of nuclear power in the UK.

The Thorp plant has been closed for 17 months following a leak of 83,000 litres of radioactive liquid, which led to BNG being fined £2m for safety lapses

The subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels has repeatedly expressed confidence that the plant will be brought back into service within months but now admits the timetable has slipped to next year. A spokeswoman said: "While all necessary improvements to the plant will be completed by the end of September it is now clear the process of carrying out the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate recommendations and related work will take some time. BNG and the Nuclear installations Inspectorate are seeking to complete this [repair] work as quickly as possible but it is likely this will run until the end of December, leading to a restart early 2007."

Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said nuclear power could not save the world from climate change and would not deliver security of supply. "Any plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations will hamper real action to reduce energy demand, develop better alternatives and tackle climate chaos.

"If anyone needed proof that nuclear is not the solution then they need look no further than companies like British Energy. The nuclear industry routinely leaves pollution, waste and contamination in its wake."